Store Gets Approval For Sign

TAMARAC -- The Planning Commission on Wednesday approved a request from the developers of Scotty`s Lumber and Hardware for a sign with four-foot instead of six-foot yellow letters.

The large, brightly colored sign will sit above Scotty`s entrance, alongside a road many residents use to reach their homes.

Tamarac City Planner Thelma Brown said the developers of Tamarac Square West, a new shopping center where the store will be located, have shown rare sensitivity to community concerns.

``Originally they had asked for six-foot-high letters on their sign, and under the city code they`re entitled to that size,`` Brown said. ``But they volunteered to reduce the letter size to 48 inches as a concession to the community. That`s unusual, because these signs are important advertising for a business.``

The land where the center was built, at the northwest corner of Pine Island Road and McNab Road, once was an undeveloped wooded area.

While far from happy about the shopping center, the residents said they appreciated the developers` decision to reduce the size of the sign.

``We`re just going to make the best of it, I guess,`` said a resident who asked not to be identified. ``They`ve added some landscaping, and they do seem to care about us. I just hope we won`t have too many problems with the noise and the lights of the cars.``

Late last year, homeowners across a nearby canal objected to a six-foot wall built to hide the loading area behind the center.